The Clans
There are a number of warrior clans that dominate the politics of the Three Countries. Historically, the two strongest have been the Otori Clan and the Tohan Clan (who ruled the Middle and Eastern Countries, respectively); the third major clan, the Seisshu (who rule the Western Country) is divided between three cadet clans. At certain times in the Tales of the Otori series, some of the ambitious secondary clans have risen to dominate these politics through diplomacy or war. Primary Clans: Otori Clan: Middle Country The historical rulers of the Middle Country, based in the port castle-town of Hagi on the north coast (previously they were also based in the castle-town of Yamagata). The Otori also had claim over the great mountain temple at Terayama. They are descendants of both Otori Takeyoshi (son of the legendary Shikanoko), the founder of the clan, and Emperor Yoshitomo- when Yoshitomo granted the Middle Country to Takeyoshi, he also wed him to his pregnant concubine Kai, meaning Takeyoshi adopted the Emperor's unborn child as one of his heirs. The Otori were also granted ownership of Shikanoko's magical sword, Jato. The Otori were historically noted for their relatively just nature, stubbornness and skills with the sword. Their crest is a heron with encircled wings. Although not the overlords per se of the Three Countries, the Otori had a historic dominance of the region in economics and influence. This was maintained almost continuously until the Battle of Yagaehara, which cost the Otori their control of over half the Middle Country (and one of their major vassals, who betrayed them) to the Tohan. Yamagata briefly broke free of the Tohan rule during its' uprising, only to be subdued by the Arai. The entire Middle Country was returned to Otori fiefdom after Lord Otori Takeo's victory at the battle of Hagi, although Takeo granted Yamagata and its' lands to his friend Miyoshi Kahei rather than reclaiming it. Under Takeo and his wife, Shirakawa Kaede, the Otori achieved unquestionable leadership of the Three Countries after the devastating War of the Otori Succession; Takeo and Kaede's marriage gave them joint rule over the Middle Country and nearly half of the West, and they appointed vassals to Kumamoto and Inuyama. In spite of Takeo's later conflict with the warlord Saga Hideki (the unifier of the Eight Islands) this Otori leadership of the region continued (albeit in a slightly less independent form) after his daughter's betrothal-alliance to Saga. The male line of the Otori died out after Takeo's death, though his two surviving daughters (Shigeko, his heir, and Miki) and his illegitimate son (Hisao) carry Otori blood. Tohan Clan (Iida): Eastern Country The historical rulers of the Eastern Country, based in the castle-town of Inuyama; they have been lead for centuries by a cadet branch, the Iida Clan. The founder of the Iida Clan was an acrobat and monkey trainer who was the childhood friend of Emperoro Yoshitomi, rewarded for his loyalty with the Eastern Country. By the time of Tales of the Otori, the Tohan were known for their warlike ways and their cruelty towards the Hidden, as well as their rivalry with the Otori. Their crest is a triple oak leaf. Under Iida Sadamu, the Tohan conquered nearly half the Middle Country from the Otori after their controversial victory at the Battle of Yagaehara, including Yamagata; they rewarded the Otori's treacherous vassals, the Noguchi, with territory in the south, and forced the three main Seisshu clans (Maruyama, Arai and Shirakawa) into submission through reluctant hostage-alliances. Sadamu would have made himself overlord of all the Three Countries through an alliance with the Otori (which he was intending as a cover to dispose of his most hated rival, Otori Shigeru) but was killed in his own capital by Shirakawa Kaede, while many of his retainers were killed by Takeo and members of the Tribe. At the same time, Arai Daiichi had raised an army in the West and defeated both the Shirakawa and the Noguchi armies; aided by an uprising against Tohan rule in Yamagata, Daiichi stormed Inuyama and crushed most of the Tohan, claiming the Eastern country by right of conquest. The remainder of the Tohan rallied under Sadamu's first cousin, Iida Nariaki; he defied Daiichi and led an army west, hoping to claim the domain of Maruyama through his wife and use it as a base to fight the Arai. However, he was attacked and defeated at the Battle of Asagawa by the army of Otori Takeo, during which Takeo killed Nariaki personally in a duel, ending the Tohan line. The Tohan were ultimately replaced as rulers of the Eastern Country by the Sunoda Clan, a vassal of the Arai who joined the Otori after Daiichi's final defeat. Seisshu Clan: Western Country The Seisshu are the clan that historically ruled over the Western country, although no single branch of the family bears the Seisshu name or uses their crest (the sun rising between two hills). It is unclear which of the three main cadet branches are the most directly descended from the original Seisshu clan. Although they can all claim historical descent and often refer to themselves collectively as the Seisshu, they operate independently from each other in diplomacy. Because of this, the Seisshu do not possess the same level of unity or individual military strength as either the Otori or the Tohan, although the Western Country itself is nearly as rich and valuable as the Middle Country. During thThe Seisshu were divided during the War of the Otori Succession (with the Arai supporting Arai Daiichi's faction, the Maruyama mostly supporting Otori Takeo's faction, and the Shirakawa divided between the two) but ultimately, after Daiichi's death at the Battle of Hagi, they submitted as vassals to the Otori. Secondary Clans turned Primary: Arai Clan The Arai were the strongest of the Seisshu branches in military strength, and one of the most difficult to restrain. They were based in the port castle-town of Kumamoto, in the south-west of the Western Country; it is ringed by mountains rich in coal and iron ore, providing both natural defense and raw materials for military production. Their crest is a black bear's front paw and claws. The Arai's status as a one-time great clan is essentially the story of Lord Arai Daiichi. The Arai family were punished after Yagaehara by the granting of Daiichi (their primary heir at the time), as a hostage to the treacherous Noguchi clan, who had defected from the Otori to the Tohan; the Tohan overlord Iida Sadamu ordered the hostage-taking because Daiichi had been arranging an informal and covert alliance with Otori Shigeru before Yagaehara. Daiichi, enraged, chafed under the situation until the Noguchi foolishly banished him; he returned home, raised an army and stormed across the Three Countries, defeating first the Shirakawa and then the Noguchi. He then marched on Yamagata and was greeted as a liberator by Otori sympathizers who had rebelled against the Tohan; the conquest was completed by his march into the Eastern Country and capture of the Tohan capital of Inuyama (though Sadamu and most of his retainers were already dead). Daiichi then claimed the Eastern Country for the Arai clan and his retainers, though many pockets of Tohan resistance remained; he settled in Inuyama as his new capital. The Arai were granted the Emperor's permission to act as the new overlord of the Three Countries, but the Otori lords (Shigeru's uncles, who had been complicit in Sadamu's plot to kill him) refused to recognize Daiichi's new status and declared war. Thus, despite his string of victories, Daiichi was forced to continue fighting against the Otori and the remains of the Tohan, as Takeo- the one he had hoped to install as his ally and head of the Otori Clan- had disappeared with the Tribe. When his ally Shirakawa Kaede disappeared to marry the re-appeared Takeo, Daiichi felt personally betrayed and worried for his control of the West, as Kaede was heir to both Shirakawa and Maruyama. When Kaede was abducted in Shirakawa by Lord Fujiwara's men, Daiichi allowed the nobleman to marry her in order to secure Shirakawa and took her sisters as hostages. He then forced Takeo out of Maruyama in a running battle, finally forcing his surrender near the coast. Aware that Takeo's influence on the Three Countries- as well as his knowledge of the Tribe and his alliance with the Terada pirates- Daiichi offered again to install Takeo as head of the Otori after Hagi was taken, to which Takeo reluctantly agreed. Daiichi led the Arai army overland to destroy the Otori forces while Takeo and his smaller army made a stealth attack on Hagi by sea. However, after Daiichi had defeated the Otori army and Takeo had secured Hagi for him he felt he no longer needed Takeo and made clear his intention to storm the city and wipe out Takeo and the rest of the Otori. He hesitated only when Takeo revealed that he held Daiichi's illegitimate sons- Zenko and Taku, both members of the Tribe- hostage, threatening the Arai clan's only means of succession (Daiichi's younger, legitimate son had died earlier that year). This hesitation allowed Terada Fumio to kill Daiichi with a firearm. Daiichi's army was simultaneously destroyed by a massive earthquake that nearly wiped out Hagi. The Otori then became the new overlords of the Three Countries, but Takeo granted Kumamoto- the ancestral Arai domain- to Daiichi's eldest surviving son, Zenko, and made him his vassal. He attempted to bind Zenko in alliance with the Otori by marrying Kaede's sister Hana to him. Zenko and Hana had three sons- Sunaomi, Chikara and Hiromasa. In outward appearance, Arai Zenko remained a loyal vassal of the Otori during the almost two decades of peace that followed. However, his bitterness towards Takeo over his father's death never faded, and aided by Hana (who wanted to destroy the Otori for personal reasons) he plotted to resurrect the Arai as the preemenent clan of the Three Countries. As an outward gesture of loyalty he offered his two eldest sons to Takeo, knowing Takeo's reluctance to harm children made them useless hostages. He secretly defied Takeo's restrictions on importing firearms and other weaponry to build up his own arsenal. Zenko also directed the Otori's attention elsewhere by negotiating with Lord Saga Hideki, who by then had conquered most of the rest of the Eight Islands, making a deal to submit to Saga's rule if Saga named him overlord of the Three Countries after Takeo's abdication or defeat. While Takeo dealt with Saga, Zenko used his lack of supervision to enable Portuguese foreigners into Kumamoto, making a pretense of converting to Christianity (here God is referred to as "Deus") to gain their military and financial support. While the Otori and their various vassals were locked in a massive battle with the Saga army far to the East, Zenko secretly marched his army across the barely-defended Middle Country, sacking Hagi (with his wife's help) and conquering Yamagata. However, Zenko's ally Saga Hideki ultimately changed sides, making a betrothal-alliance with Takeo's successor and heir Otori Shigeko. Their combined, overwhelming armies eventually encircled the Arai forces and decisively defeated them. Zenko and Hana were ordered to take their lives, and the Arai were deprived of their rights to Kumamoto; although Hana killed their youngest son rather than leave him, Zenko's two older sons were spared as long as they renounced the Arai name and retired to the temple at Terayama. Sunoda Clan Secondary Clans Maruyama Clan The Maruyama are the most prestigious of the secondary clans, as well as one of the most prosperous. Descended from their founder Lady Kuromori Hina and her husband, the legendary sorcerer-warrior Shikanoko, they are unique in that their succession passes through the female line, by decree of Emperor Yoshimori (who granted Hina the domain). It is unknown how they are descended from the Seisshu, but presumably through various marriage-alliances; in any case, they are counted as one of the most important families of the Seisshu. They are based in a castle-town in the hills bearing the name of Maruyama; their crest is a pine tree on a hill. The Maruyama were forced into an uneasy submission to the Tohan via hostages following Yagaehara, as they had secretly been forming an alliance with the Otori beforehand; this alliance was maintained in spite of the many failed efforts of Iida Sadamu to wed Maruyama Naomi, the current head of the clan. Fearing she would not escape Inuyama during the events proceeding its' fall, Naomi named her cousin, Shirakawa Kaede, as her heir. After her and her daughter Mariko's deaths, Kaede secured the loyalty of the clan's retainers, but lacked the manpower to hold the domain; her marriage to Takeo attracted them some followers and they were ultimately able to defeat the other claimant (the husband of Naomi's stepdaughter, Iida Nariaki) at Asagawa and take the domain. It temporarily submitted to the Arai after Daiichi's defeat of Takeo, but was restored to Kaede after Daiichi's fall at Hagi. When Takeo and Kaede's daughter Shigeko came of age, she was declared Lady Maruyama and ruler of the domain in her own right. As of the end of the series, although she is betrothed to Lord Saga Hideki (the most overlord of the Eight Islands) she continues to rule and govern both Maruyama, which she will pass on to either her own daughters or to her sister Miki. Noguchi Clan Kitano Clan Shirakawa Clan Miyoshi Clan Terada Clan